California investors snap up $103M portfolio of St. Petersburg warehouses
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Aug 12, 2015

In one deal, a California investment group has become the largest owner of industrial real estate in Pinellas County.

Evergreen Industrial Properties paid $103 million for a 1.7-million-square foot portfolio that includes 34 buildings in five business parks, Cushman & Wakefield of Florida Inc. announced Wednesday.

Executive Director Mike Davis, Senior Director Rick Brugge and Senior Director Michael Lerner represented Miami-based owner Fleeman Family Trust in the sale of Gateway Business Center, Gateway Business Park, Metropointe Commerce Park, Westbay Corporate Center and Joe's Creek Industrial Park.

The portfolio was 84 percent leased at the time of sale and major tenants include Lockheed Martin, Jabil, L–3 Communications, FedEx, MTS Systems, Worldpac, Digital Lightwave and Jagged Peak.

"This was a unique opportunity to acquire a value-added industrial portfolio with significant critical mass in one market,” Davis said in a statement. "These assets are situated in irreplaceable infill locations in the most densely populated county in Florida. This extraordinarily land-constrained market is prohibitive to new development, creating conditions for strong rental growth for existing properties.”

The transaction makes Evergreen one of the five largest industrial landlords in Tampa Bay.

The deal is "the largest industrial transaction in terms of both volume and price in the Pinellas, Tampa and Lakeland industrial markets dating back at least six quarters," according to Cushman & Wakefield data.